Teaching Your Dog To Grab You a Beer
Fido probably knows how to sit and lay down. He probably even knows how to fetch. But does your pooch know to fetch you a cool beer from the fridge? If your dog doesn’t already know how to do this, follow these simple steps and watch in amazement as your best friend grabs you a beer.
Step one: Know upfront that there is a lot of training involved in this. The steps involved in this are pretty straightforward, but it’s still good to know that it will take a while to train your dog to do this.
Step two: You will need a clicker for this step. These can be found in any major pet store and are invaluable for training. Tie an old towel or rope on the handle of your fridge to make it easy to open for your dog.
Step three: Get your dog to notice the rope or towel. When he notices, usually clicker and praise him. Eventually work up to getting him to tug on the rope or towel, clicking and praising each and every time. This step may take a while, but keep at it.
Step four: Teach your dog to grab a can of beer, using the clicker and praising as before. Again, this can take a while, depending on your dog and how well they already know the game of fetch. Have them bring you the beer and then praise profusely when they finally get. Congrats, you have just been brought a cold beer by your pooch!
Teach Dog To Play Dead
After you have taught your dog the basic commands of sitting, shaking your hand and staying in one place, you can begin to teach your dog other fun tricks, such as playing dead.
Before you teach your dog to play dead, make sure he knows how to lay down.
Step 1: Tell your dog to sit. When he sits, give him a treat.
Step 2: Holding a treat in front of your dog’s nose, move the treat to the ground in a slow manner. Say “down” when the dog is laying on the floor. Continue this training until the dog stays on the floor without a treat.
Step 3: You will need to make sure your dog knows how to lay down with only your command before teaching him to play dead. Practice about 10 minutes a day for a few days.
Step 4: Tell the dog to stay in one place once he is sitting.
Step 5: When he is sitting without jumping up, tell him to lay down.
Step 6: Guide the dog to lay on his side once he is on the floor. The dog should go from sitting to laying on his side.
Step 7: Once your dog has started laying on his side without treats, add in the verbal cue of “BANG!” so that your dog thinks to play dead. This can be done with a treat until he is comfortable with the trick.